A CHANGE in hospital culture is needed to avoid a repeat of the patient deaths scandal in Mid Staffordshire, senior doctors in Scotland have warned.

The failings that occurred at Stafford Hospital could happen at any hospital under pressure, according to medics writing in the Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

The authors said they believe the NHS has "lost its focus" and called for a culture where the delivery of high quality care is placed above all else.

The warning comes in the editorial written by the president and vice-presidents of the institution.

They said: "Let us be under no illusion that the problems encountered in Mid Staffordshire were a localised, or isolated, happening.

"The contributing circumstances have the potential for this to occur in any hospital under pressure, and leave no room for complacency.

"The lessons learned here are too important to ignore, must be acted upon and result in cultural change to avoid repetition. If we do not, we will have failed the patients whose best interests we claim to represent."

An official inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire NHS foundation trust uncovered a "disaster" in standards of basic care and medical treatment for some of its most vulnerable and elderly patients.

The failings led to hundreds of unnecessary deaths between 2005 and 2008.

The editorial said: "We believe the NHS has lost its focus, that now is the time for the NHS to re-commit to the central importance of high quality care, and to foster a culture in which the delivery of this care is placed above all else."

College president Neil Dewhurst told BBC Radio Scotland that over-capacity had been a particular concern in recent years.

He said: "Our medical admissions rate for people, particularly elderly with heart, lung and kidney problems, have increased over the years, and our bed capacity and our patient throughput has not been able to match that.

"That means our bed occupancy is too high, hospitals do not run efficiently and the patient journey is seriously impaired and the outcomes corresponding."

He added: "The consequent pressure in the system is there on a daily basis, not just for doctors but for nurses, pharmacists and other members of the healthcare team.

"That has got to erode morale over the weeks, months and years that it is in operation."